Thursday, April 26, 2012

I would rather use one word instead of one thousand to describe what Israel means to me: Hebrew.

I belong to a Sephardic family. My great grandparents emigrated from
Syria to Argentina in 1910. My mother was born in a very small town
called Ballesteros located in Córdoba province, over 700 kilometers away
from Buenos Aires. Other Jewish families were established in other
towns in that same area. Being aware of the presence of each other, they
organized themselves to pray during the High Holidays. They were
concerned about their children’s Jewish education, and even before the
independence of Israel was declared, they hired a Hebrew MOR’E (teacher).

Every Sunday my mother, a seven years old girl and her eldest brother
waited by the road for a bus to stop. On that bus was the Hebrew
teacher.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

A Place of Her Own (Reut)

Synopsis

For the last four years director Sigal Emanuel documented the
disturbing life of Reut, a young girl who goes from one institution to
the next until she finally winds up on the streets. The documentary
begins when Reut is merely seventeen years old and gives birth to her
first son, who is immediately taken away from her by welfare
authorities. While fighting the State on her own to regain custody, she
meets a Palestinian man, marries him, moves to his village, and gives
birth to two more children. She also struggles to build an impossible
relationship with her first son’s foster family: religious Jews who live
in a settlement in the Occupied Territories. Throughout the years, and
with a method that reminds us of Czech filmmaker Helena Trestiková’s
“cycles”, Emanuel crudely and movingly reveals Reut’s true feelings. All
she ever wanted is a place she could call home and some peace of mind.
Instead, she bumps into the difficulties of a destiny (which includes a
tragic ending), similar to the one of a soap opera or the cruellest of
tangos.

Production:

More info:

It is well known that the Israeli military and police forces are
extremely sophisticated, due to the fact that violence in this country
is not only part of its history but also an everyday scenario. Yaron is a
member of an elite police squad, similar to the Brazilian BOPE. Even if
he doesn’t care to admit so his ideas, the way he relates to people,
and even his sexuality are all affected by the institutions’ cult of
courage and justification of violence. Meanwhile, a group of young
people are unhappy with the way things are. They swing between
ideological determination and the usual doubts of post-adolescence, and
seek to make a difference with an act of rebellion. Policeman is a
controversial film since it doesn’t limit itself to the single point of
view of one of these factions; actually, it seems equally cruel to both
of them. Exhibiting the extreme male chauvinism we can find in the core
of the State’s monopoly on force; as well as the immaturity and
arrogance of the so called revolutionaries, this film denounces (without
special emphasis nor exaggeration, and the temptation of drama) the
autism both parties suffer, their lack of communication and disregard
for that world they intend to improve with their actions.

More info:

THE SLOTSynopsis
This minimum rural epic revolves around Tamar, a young woman who lives
in a small town in the countryside with her two young daughters and
works as a prostitute with most of the local men. Tamar’s sexual
relations are utilitarian and non erotic despite the fact that she
appears to be kind and accessible to men approaching her all the time.
They solve her small everyday problems, the everyday survival that
probably led to Tamar’s discreet and bizarre behavior. The status quo
will break with the arrival of Shai, a young vet who returns home to
sell his dead mother’s assets. The immediate connection between these
two characters (judged differently by each of them) presents an option
for Tamar’s troubled sex life –but maybe she doesn’t want to abandon it.
And the film presents her life openly and explicitly. The fact that the
director/screenwriter also plays the main character says something
about her courage to tackle this unusual film.

I never really told you what a pleasure it was
all these months working with you and planning our wonderful trip. Your
patience and help with the thousands of details and requests made the whole experience simply
wonderful. When I think back to last September when Elias asked me to do
organize this, I never imagined how wonderful an adventure we would have.
Jeff and I fell in love with BA and hope to return with our children.
It's an amazing, vibrant city and having you lead us truly showed us the best
of Buenos Aires!

Our travelers are still flying from the experience. Every time I speak
with one of them, they are still "on cloud nine" about the trip.
I know I am delighted - as are Elias and Debbie. They all want to know
where we're going to take them next!

I hope you're having a wonderful Pesach. Please give Rafi a big hug and
kiss for me!

“Hi Valeria,
Hard to believe we have been home for a week already! I just want to tell
you how much Gary and I enjoyed traveling in Buenos Aires with you. We
keep talking about what a wonderful sense of the city we came home with, from
the Jewish perspective, the historical perspective as well as the political
perspective. Everyone that was on the trip has been talking about what an
extraordinary time we all had! When Gary and I go to minyan in the
morning we have a mini reunion. (Someone is always wearing something they
bought in Buenos Aires!) It was such a pleasure working with you and meeting
your family. Please stay in touch and let us know if you are planning a trip to
Boston.

Thank you so much for making the Temple Emanuel trip so wonderful and
memorable!

People here at the Synagogue are still raving about the trip, all the
great places and institutions we visited, the food, the variety of activities and
how warmly they were greeted by the Jewish community in Buenos Aires. This
wouldn’t have happened without your expertise and your charming and sweet
personality.

I know how much time and effort you put into this trip, working for
months in every single detail. I’m grateful to you!

Just a short note to tell you we arrived home safely and to thank you again for
opening up your beautiful city to all of us. It was a pleasure to spend
this short amount of time with you. You could see in Elias's face the joy
he too had in showing us his home town

"It was a wonderful experience on so many levels for the 30 members of our Temple Emanuel community who participated. First, working with Valeria was simply delightful. She put together a wonderful itinerary that struck just the right balance of touring and free time. She is extremely well versed in all things Jewish in BA and -- with our input -- was able to plan in and out of city activities for our group (which skewed a bit older.). The museums, Jewish agencies, synagogue tours were well informed and interesting. We threw in a classical music concert at the opera house, tango lessons followed up by dinner and a show and a really fun day at an authentic estancia about an hour or so outside the city.Molly Goodman"----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information about itineraries and pricing, please contactinfo@kosherlat.com.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Hope you had a nice Pesach! I just wanted to thank you again for the
wonderful tour. You provided a fantastic overview of the city and the
history - both Jewish and overall.

Just so you know -- we did
end up catching the Boca game vs. Arsenal. It was a lot of fun -- we
went with my brother-in-law's friend. We also caught a Tango show in
Boedo and took a tour of Theatre Colon.

I will definitely
recommend you to anyone we know who is visiting Buenos Aires. And if you
are ever in our side of the world (probably not Rochester, NY but
perhaps Niagara Falls?) -- feel free to get in touch!